SECRETLY MARRIED TO MY BOSS

chapter 21

Griffin

Cora walks down the stairs the following evening, looking like something out of a wet dream. Her hair falls in long waves down her back, and her black silk dress hugs every curve of her body to perfection.

I tuck my hand in my pocket, trying to adjust the bulge without her noticing.

Cora smirks as she reaches the bottom step, her gaze dropping to the front of my slacks.

Busted.

She looks up at me with amusement shining in her eyes, the corner of her mouth still twisted upward. “You haven't told me where we were going yet.”

“And I’m still not going to.” I loop my arm around her waist and lead her out to the car. “I thought it would be nice to surprise you and take over the planning for once.”

Cora’s smile makes my pulse race. “Is this something I’m going to like?”

“I sure hope so.” I open the car door for her. She slides in with ease, a high slit climbing up her thigh.

I have no clue how I’m going to get through the evening without touching her, but I’m going to do my best.

This date needs to be the best one Cora has ever had. She deserves everything I have to give her.

I want to make a good impression; otherwise, she might think I’m just toying with her. She could walk back into my office on Monday morning and demand that I sign the divorce papers.

There's no way I’m doing that.

I’m going out with Jake’s younger sister, who also happens to be my employee.

If anything goes wrong, I could lose my best friend and my reputation.

The moment my father finds out that I’m dating an employee, he will do everything in his power to regain control of Blake and Associates.

He’ll say I’m an embarrassment to the family name—though that is nothing new.

It’s worth it, though. Cora is worth all the trouble and drama.

I sigh and rake a hand through my hair, trying to get control of my thoughts. I need to be confident on this date instead of a tangled ball of anxiety.

I get in the car, and Cora looks over at me. I wonder what’s going through her head.

Is going out with her wrong?

Was she right about the divorce?

“Everything okay?” Her eyebrows pull together, and a thin line appears between them. “If you’re having second thoughts about this, we don’t have to go out. We could go back inside and order something for dinner. Pretend that we never wanted to do this in the first place.”

I take her hand, lacing her fingers with mine. “I want to do this. I just don’t want this to end poorly.”

The frown gives way to a smile. “Good. I still want to go out with you. I don’t know how things are going to play out either, and I have to admit that it scares the hell out of me. It’s been so long since I went on a first date.”

“That seems hard to believe.” The engine roars to life, and we leave the comfort of the house behind us, quickly heading toward the unknown. “You’re one of the calmest and collected people I’ve ever met on a first date.”

“Only because I’m freaking out internally all the time.” She laughs and settles back against the seat.

She’s so gorgeous.

It’s only a short drive down the road to the marina. I pull inside the gates and head to the pier where the yacht I chartered for the evening is waiting.

Cora’s mouth drops open as she looks between me and the boat. “Griff, this is a lot,” she says.

“I know.”

I park the car and get out, going around to her side to open the door. She puts her hand in mine before stepping out, her eyes still wide as she looks up.

The salt air ruffles her hair as it blows across the ocean. Cora beams with a smile as we head toward the yacht and get on.

She takes off her heels, setting them in the small basket on deck. I toss my own in the same basket before leading her to the top deck.

Cora sits on one of the cushions at the stern, stretching her legs out in front of her. “So, is this yours?”

“Nope.” I sit beside her and lean against the cushions as the crew works to get the boat off the dock. “Just something I wanted to do for you for the night. I can’t imagine owning a boat right now. It seems like a lot of upkeep that I don’t have time for.”

She nods and tilts her head back, looking up at the pink and orange streaks radiating from the setting sun. “You really didn’t have to do this. It’s a lot.”

“I wanted to.” I lean over and take a bottle of champagne from the bucket on the side table. I pour two glasses before handing one to her. “So, tell me what’s been going on in your life over the last years. It’s been a long time since I was really involved in it.”

She sips the champagne and shrugs. “Not a lot. I graduated from university with a degree in business and thought about opening a media agency with the man I was with. I thought we would get married and run a business together.”

“Obviously, that didn’t go as planned.”

She barks out a short laugh. “No, it didn’t.”

“Does he have anything to do with all the trouble you’re in?”

I don’t know this man she was engaged to, but I f*****g hate him to the core. If he was stupid enough to let Cora go, he clearly didn’t realize her actual value.

Cora takes a large gulp of her drink. “Yeah. We were engaged for a long time. Most of our engagement was during our time in college at the university. My name went on all his student loans and my own. Then we got a house and started a business; my name was all over those, too.”

A pit opens in the bottom of my stomach. Though I don’t know the whole story yet, I get an awful sense of understanding of where this is going.

She sighs and squeezes her eyes shut before glancing at me with a crooked smile. “One day, I caught him cheating on me with his colleague who was married at his other work. He needed that job because our business was still new and not making anything. Obviously, he didn’t care if he got fired for dating a married woman. So, I left him, and he started defaulting on all the debt payments. Because my name was on them, it became my responsibility to deal with them.”

I shake my head, my free hand balling into a fist. “Cora, we could take this guy to court. You shouldn’t be saddled with everything.”

Cora crosses one leg over the other. “I haven’t told you the best part. Now, he’s living with the woman he cheated on me with while I attempt to clean up the remnants of the life we once shared.”

I take a moment to gather my thoughts. I don’t want to say the wrong thing and make her think I’m judging her for this mess.

She was young, and she didn’t know better. She got involved with a man she thought she would marry, only for him to deceive her.

He used her good intentions to improve his own life before throwing her to the wolves.

If I ever meet him, I’m going to wring his neck.

I put my glass to the side and take her hand, lacing our fingers together. Her hand fits in mine like it was made for me to hold. “Cora, how much money are we talking about?”

“Tens of thousands of dollars left.” She sighs and leans her head on my shoulder. It’s alright, though. With what I’m making working for you, I should have them paid off in a couple of years, and then I can move on with my life.”

Cora certainly wouldn’t be the first woman to try and use me for my money if she did…

But why would she agree to go on a date with me?

She wouldn't have agreed to a date if this was all about getting money from me. It’d be easier to push for a divorce, try to claim alimony or something.

That’s not who Cora is, though. She’s not the kind of person who would use someone else to get what she wants. She’s too good for that.

Hell, she came to work for me just to handle the debt.